John Does
by Poison's Ivy
Summary: She coolly raised her eyebrow, her eyes peeking out from the top of her book, "Am I supposed to know who you are?" The man only gave her a cheeky smirk, letting his hand sink in his right pocket, "I would hope not sunshine." Red X/Raven
1. Chapter 1

**Title: John Does  
Summary: **She coolly raised her eyebrow, her eyes peeking out from the top of her book, "Am I supposed to know who you are?" The man only gave her a cheeky smirk, letting his hand sink in his right pocket, "I would hope not sunshine."**  
Pairing: Red X/Raven  
Inspiration: My friend, Cresenta, and the show "Tru Calling".

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"Friend Raven, wouldn't you want to work in a place more…", she struggled for her next few words, "Not-death-like?" Starfire asked her, turning a curious glance at her friend who was staring at the building of the Morgue with little interest. Raven only shrugged in an indifferent manner.

"I'm _creepy _remember? Doesn't this suit me?" she responded lightly, letting the optimistic teen realize she wasn't really being serious. Starfire only sighed quietly, pulling her hat down to cover her bright green eyes from passing civilians who were staring at the two teens with some interest, while others passed by without glancing at all. She chewed at her lip, hoping that no one would notice them, but it was easy to see they had captured the attention of a few, even with sunglasses covering Raven's eyes, or a hat covering Starfire's hair, which was tightly wrapped in a bun.

"Shall we… _enter_?" Starfire asked, despite the gnawing feeling in her stomach that told her she did not want to enter this dark and dismal place, decorated with lights that did not bring any brightness to the area.

"You can go home if you want."

"Are you sure Friend Raven?" Starfire asked, somewhat relieved yet at the same time concerned for leaving her friend alone in this… this place.

Raven nodded, putting a soft smile on her face for Starfire, who sighed at her response.

"If you are sure. I will trust your judgment."

With that, she walked away, leaving Raven alone to walk into the Morgue. She entered quietly, her feet not making any noise as she walked through the lonely corridor. Eventually she met another brown haired man in his forties, who identified himself as the coroner, and Raven nodded her head at him.

"Raven Roth", she said politely to the man whose name was Shawn Randers. "I'm here for the, uh, job?"

Shawn nodded and led her to his office. As Raven walked through the dismal corridor her mind flashbacked to how Beast Boy had beautifully suggested that _she _be the one to investigate the murders of high class civilians. Her "creepiness" played a factor in his judgment, she was sure, but she knew better than to complain. The murders were growing more brutal each day, each _week _to be more precise. Every Wednesday a different body showed up (there were three, as far as she knew), and as much as the police were heavily investigating the case, they would not let the Titans in on the investigation. (She had her suspicions that it had to do with the Chief's bubbling jealousy/hatred for the Titans who, in his opinion, always stole the spotlight.)

Raven knew that eventually, when the number of bodies reached a critical number the police would have no choice but to ask Robin for help, but the whole team agreed that waiting a few more weeks would only cause more harm than good.

"So you'll really only be working the desk job, recording the number of bodies, the time of death, cause of death, etc." Shawn said, turning his blue eyes onto Raven who nodded at the information. He raised an eyebrow, "We don't really get many people… _willing _to work in the morgue… Any reason as to why you chose this job?"

Raven shrugged, "Not really. I guess I'm just one in a million."

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Five days of recording corpses had passed, and Raven knew that she had two days until the next body came in. Sighing, she crossed her right leg over her left one, and leaned back as she pretended to read a magazine. Looking up she noticed Shawn working in his office with the blinds close, and Raven took the chance to go through the files.

She quickly typed the password into the computer and looked at the data recorded from the last three weeks. After clicking on each Wednesday of each week she looked through the bodies recorded and found the one she was looking for.

**Name: **Dr. Amanda Tawney**  
Age: **32**  
Eyes: **Green**  
Hair: **Blonde**  
Sex: **Female**  
Occupation: **Doctor**  
Time of Death: **11 p.m.**  
Cause of Death: **Strangulation**  
Found: **In her apartment, Bedroom.

**Name: **John Anderson**  
Age: **43**  
Eyes: **Brown**  
Hair: **Black**  
Sex: **Male**  
Occupation: **Lawyer**  
Time of Death: **11 p.m.**  
Cause of Death: **Strangulation**  
Found:** In his house, Bedroom.

**Name: **Erica Evans**  
Age: **29**  
Eyes: **Brown**  
Hair: **Brown**  
Sex: **Female**  
Occupation: **Pharmacist**  
Time of Death: **11 p.m.**  
Cause of Death: **Strangulation**  
Found: **In her house, Bedroom.

Raven printed all the information out while keeping an eye on Shawn's office, while also sending the information to Robin.

She knew that the police suspected that this week's target would be a male, as next week's would be a female. Age, eye and hair color didn't seem to be a reoccurring theme in each victim, but the killer's signature was that he murdered them all in their own homes at 11 at night, and they were all upper class civilians.

That's it.

Raven sighed at the lack of information in this case. She knew someone was going to be murdered this week, and it bothered her to know that she could do nothing…

Unless…

Raven looked up the address of each victim. Maybe she could go to their apartment and find the killer's aura… Taking out her communicator, Raven attempted to call Robin when she was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

Looking up, she stealthy put away the communicator and glanced at whoever was standing in the doorway.

He walked in, his black and short straight locks neatly yet messily cropped up. His amber eyes looked straight at her, determined and curious, she could tell. His stance was lazy yet sophisticated, with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He wore a black button up shirt, yet from this distance she could tell it was made of fine Egyptian cotton.

As he walked closer to her, he gave her a sly smirk. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his obvious confidence as he put out his hand to shake hers. "I'm Xander… are you new here?" he asked curiously, giving her a look over.

Leaning on one fist that was propped on the table, she just stared at him, not bothering to shake his hand. "Are you saying you've been here before?" she retorted dryly, not really wanting to deal with the ego he so obviously had.

He pulled his hand away, tightening it into a loose fist, and smirked, "Heh, clever girl. But yes, I have. My uh… aunt was murdered… I was just wondering if we could get her back… For funeral purposes, you know."

Raven nodded, "I'm sorry for your loss." He only shrugged in response. "What's your aunt's name?"

"Amanda Tawney."

The name obviously struck a bell—looking at the screen in front of her, she saw that Amanda Tawney was indeed the first victim in the killings of upper class civilians.

Raven slightly rolled in her rolling chair, biting her lip to give him bad news. "She's part of an ongoing investigation, you _do _know that right?"

Xander simply shrugged, "Couldn't hurt for you to confirm her release, could it?"

Raven gave an inaudible sigh before clicking a few links to see if Tawney's body could be released yet. "No. Sorry", she said, with as much compassion as she could muster when she found that her body was not ready for release.

Xander nodded and stayed silent, staring at an indistinct point on the floor. Raven tapped her fingers on her desk while she scrolled through more of the files.

She didn't realize he was still there until he spoke again, "Raven, right?"

She looked up quickly, a mix of confusion and suspicion etched onto her face, "How did you—"

Smirking, he interrupted her, "Your nameplate, of course."

"Nice try. I don't have a nameplate."

He grinned, "Lucky guess then." She raised an eyebrow in response.

"Lucky guess?" she asked dryly, her hand slowly reaching for the emergency button on her communicator in case she had to call for backup.

Xander chuckled, his laughter vibrating in his throat, "Calm down. You looked like Raven from the Teen Titans so I took a shot and turned out to be right. No big deal."

She raised an eyebrow, "Forgive me if I don't believe you."

A cheeky grin. "Well that's all I'm giving you to believe."

She did her best to mask the annoyance that was creeping up her face. "What did you say your last name was?" she asked, trying to figure out who this fool was.

Xander shook his head, a chuckle escaping his lips, "I didn't tell you. Only fair since I had to guess your name and all."

Raven rolled her eyes, "I guess we're even then", she said as dryly as she could.

"Yea we're even… for now."

Raven paused, her fist curling as his words rang in her… the words familiar in her brain yet she couldn't register where she had heard them. "Do I know you?" she asked, trying to mask the suspicious tone in her voice. Where had she heard those words before…?

Xander winked, a smirk creeping onto his face as he turned around to walk away, "I would hope not sunshine."

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**Start of a new murder fic; I just have an obsession with them. **** Reviews are always welcome with bouts of gratitude. :D**

**This could be a short story, or a long story. I'm really not sure yet; I just go along with what comes to me and pray I get somewhere. **

**Love,  
Ivy**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow guys! Thanks for all the reviews. I didn't realize this would be so popular.

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He only gave her a slight smirk, "Now, now… We don't want your boss telling the police that you're a Titan, do you?" he asked her calmly in a soft whisper while still incased in her dark magic, his darkening amber colored eyes coolly glancing at Shawn's door that was closed. The corner of her lips just turned slightly downward in a scowl.

The minute he had turned around before calling her "sunshine", she had stretched out her arm, her power turning into a black fist which soon wrapped around his lithe body and pulled him up into midair. He didn't really react in response though, and for some reason she wasn't surprised.

Her eyes bored into his. "What do you think you're doing?" she asked him, her face turning impassive once again as she reached for her communicator to call Robin. She knew X was conceited, but she didn't realize how much of a fool he really was.

He managed to shrug in her grip, "Hovering in midair. What does it look like?" he said indifferently. She rolled her eyes.

"You know I thought you were stupid before, but now I don't even _know _what to call you."

"Glad you think so highly of me."

Raven just tightened her hold on him before picking her communicator out of her pocket and holding it near her face. As she flicked it open she was about to press the button to call Robin when "Xander" interrupted her, (if that was even his real name).

"Look I didn't come here to go to jail." She almost rolled her eyes.

"Subtly revealing your identity was a smart idea then."

He ignored her sarcasm. "I need your help."

She let the shock that came with his statement settle in before opening her mouth to speak again, "_My _help?" She asked, internally cursing herself for sounding so shocked but to be honest, his statement was an eye-opener. Since when did thieves ask the Titans for help?

X didn't say anything, just nodded, wisps of his black hair falling in front of his eyes.

She looked at communicator in her hand before glancing back up at him. "You really think that's a smart idea? The Titans… _Robin_, wouldn't enjoy helping one of his enemies."

He just stared at her intently, "I wasn't talking about Robin", he said quietly.

She stayed quiet, thinking over his statement before responding, "So you need _my _help?" She asked, fully understanding what he meant before.

"Yes."

Raven sighed before putting her communicator away. If he was serious then he wasn't going to attack her… But just in case she probed his mind, feeling his aura and realized that he really _wasn't _here for a fight. Albeit a tad bit reluctantly, (this man had given her more trouble than anything), she knew she would have to release him.

The sound of a doorknob turning interrupted her thoughts. Raven quickly glanced at Shawn's door before releasing X, who landed gracefully onto the floor after her power disappeared.

"Raven is there someone here—", Shawn began to say, but stopped when his eyes fell on Xander. "Mr. Tawney, you're back", he said with not much surprise. Xander simply nodded before looking at Raven, making Shawn look at her also. "I see you've met my assistance, Ms. Roth", Shawn said as he extended a slight hand to point at the black haired, blue eyed girl.

Raven and X both had a mini staring contest as he looked at her intently, from her long black hair swooped up into a high ponytail and her blue eyes which he assumed were contacts. Shawn, who was oblivious to the slight tension between them, scratched at his balding head and continued talking, "I'm sorry Mr. Tawney but your aunt won't be ready until the investigation is over. I'm sorry", he said with some concern before turning his attention to Raven. "Raven I'm leaving for my lunch break. I'll be back soon." She nodded and Shawn left.

She turned her attention back to X. "Tawney?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. "While I would normally assume that isn't your real last name, I'm not so sure anymore, considering your idiotic actions at the moment", she said, referring to him revealing his identity to her.

He gave her a slight smirk before walking closer to her, now being only a few steps away from her form. "I'm not that moronic."

"Yet here you are", she said, not missing a beat.

He rolled his eyes at the jab, "I couldn't really come in here donned in my Red X costume, now could I?" She shrugged and looked off to the side, not really wanting to look at his smirking face. "And…" he said sighing, "I knew it would get to you realize that I'm being serious here."

His tone had turned somber and she looked back at him. "Okay. Why do you need my help?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against her desk.

He put his hands in his pockets, looking around for anyone else before glancing back at her, "Obviously you know about the murders. I'm guessing that's why you're here pretending to need a job?" She rolled her eyes and he continued, knowing she wasn't going to confirm his question. "Well the next murder is going to happen in two days, and… there's a chance I'm the next target."

She raised an eyebrow, realizing that's why he was dressed like an upper class civilian. It was because he _was _an upper class civilian. Curiously, she asked, "You know there are easier ways of going about this… You could have gone to the police without revealing your secret identity, for one."

He squirmed a bit, subtly though, hoping she wouldn't catch it but she did. She read through his actions quickly. He was uncomfortable with the idea. Why though?

He bit his lip before looking straight at her, and he walked closer to her, leaning down until his lips were near her ear. "Not many people know this, but Erica Evans was dating John Anderson", X whispered into her ear. "She claimed she knew who the murderer was, told the police, and now she's dead. Does that sound suspicious to you?"

Raven's eyes widened slowly as she glanced back at X who, to her discomfort, was only a few inches away from her face, "You think someone in the police department is involved with the murders."

X nodded.

"Wait..." Raven said quickly as a thought came to her, "How do _you _know this?" she asked suspiciously.

He shrugged, pulling away as if he just noticed their closeness, "I have …connections."

"You mean you spied."

"Same thing", he said with a cheeky grin. Raven just rolled her eyes at his antics. He put a hand in his pocket and leaned on the desk next to her. "So will you help me?" he asked, turning serious at the blink of an eye.

Raven pursed her lips, looking away from him at the moment. "Give me some time to think about It. You _are _asking me to help you despite being a villain."

"I … possibly have 56 hours to live."

She paused. Reluctantly she opened her mouth to say yes. Red X may have been a criminal, but he was right; there was a chance he was the next target, and as a Titan she couldn't risk that.

Hardening her gaze, she looked straight at X, at his amber eyes and black cropped hair, his serious face that was lost of all humor. "…Fine. What do you know about the murderer so far?"

He shook his head. "Not here. You're going on your lunch break now", he said, grabbing her hand and dragging her off.

Raven scowled and pulled her hand away; she knew helping X was the best thing to do right now, but she had a feeling that this _experience _wouldn't come without its regrets.

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**There's the next chapter guys! Hope you enjoyed it. Please review because your reviews actually DID motivate me to write this chapter. **

**Love,  
Ivy**


	3. Chapter 3

"So the murders happened every Wednesday at 11 P.M. in the victim's own home. Victims are upper class civilians with successful high paying jobs. All the victims live in the upper east side of the city, whether it's an an apartment or a private home. Police cannot be trusted. Strangulation is the key method of killing..." Raven sighed, rubbing her forehead with two fingers. "So the killer has to be strong. Physically capable of holding down a victim and stranguling them with his or her own bare hands."

X, Xander, Mr. Tawney, whatever, looked at her with hooded eyes. "Had to be capable of breaking into each apartment building or home and leaving without any detection." He took a sip of his coffee and stretched his neck out. "How did he silence his victims to not scream out?"

Raven sifted through some of the papers she had printed from the morgue's office. "The skin around the mouth was broken... We're thinking duct tape."

"Was there any blood underneath the fingernails of each victim? They had to have fought back... This guy would have bruises on his skin", he said, glancing around the coffee shop to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation. Raven did some mumbo jumbo to make sure no one heard them, but psh, magic. He didn't really trust anything he couldn't control.

"No... I don't know how he killed them without any kind of resistance", Raven noted. She drank some of her chamomile tea, feeling her throat dry up. She wasn't used to talking this much. "No blood or skin under the nails that we could lift for DNA... Their wrists and arms were _clear_ of bruises; he didn't tie them up. The toxin reports showed their bloodstream was clear... Unless he used a drug that isn't detectable by toxicology-"

"Then we're stuck", X said. He rolled his eyes and leaned back against his seat. "So what now?"

Raven exhaled slowly, trying to clear her mind of the stress this case was putting on her. "This guy's good... Assuming it is a he." Raven eyed X, seeing that his eyes looked weary and the lines on his face were deepened. He looked like a man who hadn't slept in a few days.

Earlier when they were walking out of the morgue, Raven debated if it was smart to tell him all of this information. After all, he was still a criminal, and it was very possible that he himself was the killer. After all, he knew how to get in and out of places undetected; the only time the Titans ever got wind of his appearance was when he was _bored_ and felt like picking a fight. However, after reading his aura and feeling his intentions with her mind, Raven could tell that this was a man who just didn't want to die...

Raven almost rolled her eyes. She was hearing Robin's voice in her head now. "Raven! That suit makes it possible for him to do anything! You can't trust him! He's a criminal!" Blah blah...

Blah. Wait. Raven's eyes widened.

The suit. _A_ suit. A suit designed for stealth... And if anyone fought back against it, it was possible that the suit would absorb the damage and would only minimally hurt the man inside it. Raven glanced at X, who looked even more tired than he did before as he idly sipped his coffee. She knew it wasn't him, (call it instinct. She shushed the Robin-voice in her head who was berating her because _she _was the one who didn't trust Terra and _then_ look what happened), but a _suit_...

"What if our guy is wearing some kind of armor?" Raven said, leaning on the table to emphasis her point. "A _suit_. Something to protect him from leaving his DNA everywhere. Something that shielded him from getting hurt when his victims fought back."

The realization caught up to X and he leaned over the table as well, "... Hold up... If I tell you something, can it be held against me?"

She raised an eyebrow, "Seriously? Three murders and you're just thinking about yourself?"

Giving her a look, he shrugged, "Hey. I don't want my life compromised because of some asshole who stole my idea of using a suit."

"It wasn't your idea to begin with!" Raven exclaimed.

X shushed her and made a hand gesture for her to answer his previous question. "Details, details. Stop changing the subject. Well?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Fine. Whatever. It won't be used against you." She was already fraternizing with the enemy anyways.

X smiled, (Raven ignored the jump in her chest), and lowered his voice to speak to her. "You guys don't know this, but every suit leaves some kind of chemical residue... Whether it be on the spandex of the costume or the chemicals that it uses. My friend gave me a scanner that helps trace it... I could literally trace Robin throughout this city if I wanted to."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "... Your friend?" She almost snorted at that one.

He chuckled, "What, you don't think it's capable for me to have friends?"

"Friends you _steal_ from, you mean."

X had the audacity to look appalled. Oh please. "I'm am shocked that you would think so lowly of me." He made an (overdramatic) gesture, placing his hand over his chest as if he was wounded. Raven resisted the urge to scoff in his face. She settled for rolling her eyes instead.

"If you could reach into my pocket and steal from me right now-" she started to say, but X interrupted her.

"Oh Raven that is _not_ the reason my hands would be in your pants." And then he smiled like a cheeky bastard.

Raven could feel the blush on her face form but being around a bunch of teenaged boys made her ready for this kind of special stupidity. "I wouldn't even kiss you... Let alone let you get so close to me."

X grinned and leaned back in his seat as the waitress came over to their table, "We'll see about that."

Raven rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath about hormonal boys. She placed the papers back into a tote bag that she had to carry around for disguise before the waitress could see it.

"Anything else guys?" the brunette apron-clad girl asked with a smile. The two of them glanced at each other before shaking their heads. Raven's lunch break was almost over anyways.

"I'll bring your check right over!" She said cheerfully. It grated on Raven's nerves, but it also reminded Raven of Starfire and she felt her glare soften.

"Anyways..." she started, trying to think of a plan. "I was going to ask Robin to let me into the crime scenes anyways, to see if I could get an aura read of the person responsible for this. I don't know how to get you in there but-"

"Oh sunshine we could totally make this a lot more fun", he said with a grin, nodding at the waitress when she came back to give them their check. After she left, he leaned over the table, almost in excitement. "We should just sneak in. Between your powers and my skills-"

"You mean the suit", she said with a dash of sarcasm, but X ignored it and continued speaking.

"-We could totally sneak into the place without anyone knowing."

Raven rolled her eyes. She put some cash on the table and gathered her belongings. "Sneaking in won't help us in court when we try to get this guy in jail..."

X rolled his eyes, the amber color reflecting off the lights. "See this is why I never wanted to be a cop. Too many rules."

"Rules are there for a reason."

"Yes, to _break _them."

Raven bit her lip to stop from (almost) smiling at that retort. Together they stood up and walked out of the shop, heading back towards the morgue.

"Look... We'll...", she couldn't believe she was saying this, "I'll try to get Robin to call his connections and get me in tonight. If anyone asks, you're working with me."

He smirked at that, "_Working_, huh?"

"Yes, _working_. I know it's a difficult concept for you to grasp but that is what us law-abiding citizens do."

X chuckled at that, and Raven found his laugh to be... kinda nice. Not that she would ever admit it.

"I'll see you tonight then", he said with a wink. Oh gosh. Men.

"... Be careful", she said. Their meeting was fun but it didn't make Raven forget that X was a target for this kiler. "Go rob a bank or something on Wednesday. Don't be home."

The lean man turned around to face Raven, coming closer to her and almost pressing his body against hers. "Why Raven, are you encouraging me to steal? I'll have you know..." he said, leaning down to whisper against his ear, "That is not what us law-abiding citizens do."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes _again_, Raven pushed his body away from her with a quick push of his chest. "You are _not _a law-abiding citizen." He didn't let her actions stop him, and he continued to walk backwards until he reached the morgue office a few seconds later. He opened the door for her and gestured for her to enter.

"I am when I'm not wearing a mask..." he said with a smile, and once Raven swatted his hand away and opened the door for herself, he left, leaving Raven to wonder about his cryptic comments and this mysterious killer.

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**Yo people. Long time no see. How is life? :D **

**It took a while... I know... But I never got the inspiration to start this next chapter. I really had no clue how to start, and you can thank a friend of mine who INSISTED I watch an episode of Blue Bloods... I guess it was what I needed to kick me back into writing murder or mystery stories. (Also simultaneously working on another long one shot for another fandom (Totally Spies fans, this is a heads up)... plus... it's Spring Break.)**

**I know it's been a while BUT ****PLEASE REVIEW****! They do encourage me to update, honestly. **

**Love,**

**Ivy**


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